“Food costs a kidney”
China makes fun of Trump’s punitive tariffs
06.04.2025 – 00:07 a.m.Reading time: 2 min.
Trump’s punitive tariffs not only triggered a counter reaction in China. The USA is also created against the USA on social media.
The “day of liberation”, where US President Donald Trump has announced worldwide tariffs, leads to spotted videos in China. The US President had imposed 34 percent of import customs against Beijing, the Chinese government reacted immediately with tariffs in the same amount.
But what Trump sees as a big economic coup is taken up with ridicule in Chinese social media. Several videos, created using artificial intelligence, make fun of the tariffs. In the strongly censored social networks, the publication of such videos is a sign that the communist party leadership has probably given its blessing.
In a video entitled “Liberation Day or a Price to Pay?” If Donald Trump’s voice is placed on the image of a woman sitting at a table, a fork in his hand. In an English song generated by AI, it is said that the citizens have been promised to “promise the stars. But the tariffs destroyed our cheap cars from China.” This often addresses the Chinese models in the USA compared to American cars, which are increasingly popular. “Food costs a kidney, gasoline a lung”, is ironically referred to a possible increase in price. Trump’s deals are referred to in somewhat bumpy English as “hot air over your tongue”, while in the picture a woman goes through a supermarket and pictures of demonstrations against price increases in the USA are shown in recordings.
Another video that was also spread by the State Chinese news agency Xinhua is shown in a futuristic environment, a scientist who commissioned a robot called Taiff (German customs) to implement punitive tariffs. He follows the instructions up to the most aggressive level. But then even the robot has concerns. “I see the consequences. The trade wars. The revolts. The people who suffer,” he says, while AI-generated photos of empty supermarkets and demonstrations are shown.
The scientist contradicts him with arguments how to hear her from Donald Trump: “You don’t understand the overall picture”. Then the robot desires and decides to switch off to end the suffering. The videos are in English, but with Chinese subtitles. They are part of state propaganda Beijings against the US tariffs.
